Chapter XL: The Problems of Japan (2)

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Naked barley is grown as an upland crop, as are ordinary barley and wheat; but it is more largely grown as a second crop in paddies than either barley or wheat. The barleys are chiefly used for human food with or without rice. Wheat is eaten in macaroni, sweetstuffs and bread. It is also used in considerable quantities in the manufacture of soy, the chief ingredient of which is beans. There was imported in the year 1920 wheat to the value of 28-1/2 million yen, and flour to the value of 3-1/4 million yen. Macaroni is largely made of buckwheat as well as of wheat. The other grain crop is millet, which is eaten by the poorest farmers. In 1918, as against 60 million _koku_ of rice, there were grown 5 million _koku_ of beans and peas. The crops of barley were 17 million, of wheat 6 million, of millet 3-1/4 million, and of buckwheat 3/4 million. More than a million _kwan_ of sweet potatoes were produced and nearly half a million of "Irish" potatoes. (The figures for barley and wheat are for 1919.)

COST AND PRICE OF RICE [XVII]. The annual figures (from Aichi) for the years 1894 to 1915 (page 384) show the cost of producing a _tan_ of rice, that is the summer crop. The amounts per _tan_ are calculated on the basis of the expenses of a tenant who is cropping 8 _tan_. The totals for the winter crop are also given. The figures which appear on the opposite page were described to me by the farmer concerned as "compiled on the basis of investigations by the chairman of the village agricultural association and by its managers and still further proved and quite trustworthy." It will be seen that the value of the winter crop is low; a secondary employment is usually a better thing for the farmer. In one or two places there is a sen or so difference in the additions which may have been made by the transcriber from the Japanese original. The difference in amounts of rent is due to difference in fields rented and also to reduction allowed owing to bad crops. The difference in the income from crops is usually due to destruction by hail or wind.

COST AND PRICE OF RICE (see page 383)

|Year | |Yield in | |_koku_ | | |Reserved for Rent | | |and Seeds (_koku_) | | | |Market Price per | | | |_koku_ (yen) | | | | |Gross Income including | | | | |Straw and Chaff, | | | | |not usually sold (yen) | | | | | |Manures (yen) | | | | | | |Taxes and Amortisation | | | | | | |of Implements (sen) | | | | | | | |Total Outlay (yen) | | | | | | | | |Net Income from Summer | | | | | | | | |Crop of Rice (yen) | | | | | | | | | |Days of Labour on | | | | | | | | | |Summer Crop of Rice | | | | | | | | | | |Net Income from | | | | | | | | | | |Winter Crop (?Barley) | | | | | | | | | | | |Total Net | | | | | | | | | | | |Income from | | | | | | | | | | | |both Crops. |------|------|------|-------|-------|-----|----|------|-------|------|-------|-------| | 1894 | 2.23 | 1.05 | 7.66 | 9.81 | 2 | 21 | 2.21 | 7.60 | 2.5 | 2.51 | 10.11 | | 1895 | 2.13 | 1.05 | 8.09 | 8.71 | 2 | 21 | 2.26 | 6.45 | 21.5 | 2.48 | 8.92 | | 1896 | 1.53 | .80 | 8.67 | 6.89 | 2.4 | 22 | 2.58 | 4.31 | 21.5 | 3.38 | 7.69 | | 1897 | 1.88 | 1.05 | 11.53 | 10.63 | 2.9 | 23 | 3.13 | 7.50 | 21.5 | 5.22 | 12.72 | | 1898 | 2.39 | 1.05 | 14.62 | 21.13 | 3.2 | 25 | 3.40 | 17.73 | 21.5 | 5.50 | 23.23 | | 1899 | 1.75 | .88 | 12.05 | 11.48 | 3.8 | 30 | 4.11 | 7.37 | 21 | 2.22 | 9.99 | | 1900 | 2.14 | 1.05 | 11.11 | 13.24 | 4.1 | 31 | 4.40 | 8.84 | 21 | 4.22 | 13.06 | | 1901 | 2.10 | 1.05 | 10.53 | 12.06 | 4 | 32 | 4.35 | 7.71 | 21 | 3.87 | 11.58 | | 1902 | 1.86 | .99 | 12.99 | 12.40 | 3.1 | 38 | 3.51 | 8.89 | 21 | 4.11 | 13 | | 1903 | 2.06 | 1.04 | 12.50 | 13.85 | 3.4 | 49 | 3.79 | 10.05 | 21 | 6 | 16.85 | | 1904 | 2.24 | 1.03 | 12.20 | 16 | 2.6 | 53 | 3.11 | 9.89 | 21 | 6.06 | 15.95 | | 1905 | 1.77 | .99 | 13.42 | 11.60 | 2.1 | 46 | 2.55 | 9.05 | 21 | 6.67 | 15.71 | | 1906 | 1.96 | 1.05 | 15.15 | 15 09 | 4 | 56 | 4.61 | 10.49 | 21 | 5.79 | 16.27 | | 1907 | 1.98 | 1.14 | 16.39 | 16.69 | 4.4 | 42 | 4.83 | 11.84 | 21 | 8.60 | 20.43 | | 1908 | 2.21 | 1.14 | 14.29 | 16.80 | 5.1 | 42 | 5.54 | 11.26 | 21 | 10.79 | 22.05 | | 1909 | 2.27 | 1.14 | 11.63 | 14.39 | 3.7 | 99 | 4.64 | 9.75 | 21 | 11.49 | 21.24 | | 1910 | 2.02 | 1.14 | 14.09 | 13.37 | 4.5 | 80 | 5.27 | 8.51 | 21 | 12.41 | 20.91 | | 1911 | 2.22 | 1.14 | 16.67 | 19.72 | 4.4 | 78 | 5.13 | 14.59 | 21 | 13.49 | 28.08 | | 1912 | 2.02 | .90 | 21.74 | 26.48 | 5.9 | 75 | 6.60 | 19.88 | 21.5 | 3.73 | 23.6 | | 1913 | 2.31 | 1.14 | 20.83 | 24.67 | 6.5 | 79 | 7.30 | 17.37 | 21.5 | 12.62 | 30 | | 1914 | 2.48 | 1.14 | 12.50 | 18.29 | 5.8 | 78 | 6.53 | 11.75 | 21.5 | 11.54 | 23.30 | | 1915 | 2.36 | 1.20 | 11.77 | 14.91 | 5.8 | 82 | 6.67 | 8.24 | 21.5 | 9.67 | 18.91 |

This table may be supplemented by the following prices for (unpolished) rice in Tokyo: 1916, 13 yen 76 sen; 1917, 19 yen 84 sen; 1918, 32 yen 75 sen; 1919, 45 yen 99 sen.

In the spring of 1921 the League for the Prevention of Sales of Rice at a Sacrifice proposed that rice should not be sold under 35 yen per _koku_. The price passed the figure of 35 yen in July 1918. At the time the League's proposals were made the Ministry of Agriculture was quoted as stating that the cost of producing rice "is now 40 yen per _koku_." The accuracy of the figures on which the Ministry's estimates are made is frequently called in question.

CULTIVATED AREA IN JAPAN AND GREAT BRITAIN [XVIII]. In 1919 there were in Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) 15,808,000 acres of arable, 15,910,000 of pasture and 13,647,000 of grazing, or a total of 45,365,000 acres out of a total area of 56,990,000 acres. In Japan there were 15,044,202 acres of paddy and of cultivated upland, 46,958,000 acres of forest and 8,773,000 acres of waste; total 70,775,000, out of 90,880,000 acres. The area of the United Kingdom without Ireland is 56,990,080 acres; that of Japan Proper, 75,988,378 acres. The population of the United Kingdom without Ireland (in 1911) was 41,126,000, and of Japan Proper (in 1911) 51,435,000. (See also Appendix XXX.)

HUMAN LABOUR _v_. CATTLE POWER [XIX]. The Department of Agriculture stated in 1921 that "from 200 to 300, sometimes more than 500 days' labour [of one man] are required to grow a _chō_ of rice." The area of paddy which is ploughed by horse or cattle power was 61.89 per cent. The area of upland so cultivated was only 38.97 per cent. The "average year's work of the ordinary adult farmer" was put at 200 days. The Department estimated an average man's day's work (10 hours) as follows:

But I have never seen a scythe in use in Japan!

MANURE [XX]. The value of the manure used in Japan in a year has been estimated at about 220 million yen, but for the three years ending 1916 it averaged 241 millions, as follows:

Dr. Sato puts the artificial manure used per _tan_ at a sixth of that of Belgium and a quarter of that of Great Britain and Germany. See also Appendix IV. An agricultural expert once said to me, "Japanese farmer he keep five head of stock, his own family."

SOWING OF RICE [XXI]. A common seeding time is the eighty-eighth day of the year according to the old calendar, say May 1 or 2. Transplanting is very usual at the end of May or early in June. In Kagawa, Shikoku, I found that rice was sown at the beginning of May or even at the end of April, the transplanting being done in mid-June. The harvest was obtained 10 per cent. about September 10th, 30 per cent. in October and 60 per cent. about the beginning of November. The winter crop of naked barley was sown in the first quarter of December and was harvested late in May or early in June, so there was just time for the rice planting in mid-June.

In Kochi the first crop is sown about March 15, the seedlings are put out in mid-May and the harvest is ready about August 10. The second crop, which has been sown in June, is ready with its seedlings from August 13 to August 15, and the harvest arrives about November 1 and 2. The first crop may yield about 3 _koku_, the second 1-1/2 _koku_.

A good deal depends in raising a big crop on a good seed bed. This is got by reducing the quantity of seed used and by applying manure wisely. Whereas formerly as much as from 5 to 7 _go_ of seed was sown per _tsubo_, the biggest crops are now got from 1 _go_.

The Japanese names of the most widely grown varieties are Shinriki, Aikoku, Omachi, Chikusei and Sekitori. At an experiment station I copied the names of the varieties on exhibition there: Banzai, Patriotism, Japanese Embroidery, Good-looking, Early Power of God, Bamboo, Small Embroidery, Power of God, Mutual Virtue, Yellow Bamboo, Late White, Power of God (glutinous), Silver Rice Cake and Eternal Rice Field.

There are several thousand _chō_ in the vicinity of Tokyo where, owing to the low temperature of the marshy soil, the seed is sown direct in the paddies, not broadcast but at regular intervals and in thrice or four times the normal quantities.

RATE OF PLANTING [XXII]. I have been told that an adult who has the seedlings brought to his or her hand can stick in a thousand an hour. The early varieties may be set in clumps of seven or eight plants; middle-growth sorts may contain from five to six; the latest kind may include only three or four. The number of clumps planted may be 42 per _tsubo_, which, as a _tsubo_ is nearly four square yards, is about ten per square yard. The clumps are put in their places by being pushed into the mud. A straight line is kept by means of a rope. The success of the crop depends in no small degree on skilful planting.

HOW MUCH RICE DOES A JAPANESE EAT? [XXIII]. The daily consumption of rice per head, counting young and old, is nearly 3 _go_. (A _go_ is roughly a third of a pint.) A sturdy labourer will consume at least 5 _go_ in a day, and sometimes 7 or even 10 _go_. The allowance for soldiers is 6 _go_. These quantities represent the rice uncooked. In recent years more and more rice has been eaten by those who formerly ate barley or mainly barley. And some who once ate a good deal of millet and _hiye_ are now eating a certain amount of rice. The average annual consumption per head of the Japanese population (Korea and Formosa excluded from the calculation) was: 1888-93, 948 _go_; 1908-13, 1,037 _go_; 1913-18, 1,050 _go_. The averages of 25 years (1888-1912) were: production, 42,756,584 _koku_; consumption, 44,410,725 _koku_; deficit, 1,984,970 _koku_; population, 45,140,094; per head, 0.980 _koku_. In 1921 the Department of Agriculture, estimating a population of 55,960,000 (see Appendix XXX) and an annual consumption per head of 1.1 _koku_ per year, put the national consumption for a year at about 61,550,000 _koku_. See also Appendix XXVI.

IMPORTED AND EXPORTED RICE [XXIV]. "Good rice" is imported from Korea and Formosa. The objection is to "Rangoon" rice. But most of the imported rice does not come from Rangoon but from Saigon. The figures for 1919 were in yen: China, 283,011; British India, 1,012,979; Kwantung, 15,053,977; Siam, 29,367,430; French Indo-China, 116,313,525; other countries, 39,918; total, 162,070,840. The exports in 1919 were in yen: China, 1,354; Australia, 6,570; Asiatic Russia, 165,463; Kwantung, 213,633; British America, 356,600; United States, 476,756; Hawaii, 3,046,598; other countries, 60,707--all obviously in the main for Japanese consumption. The total imports and exports were in _koku_ and yen over a period of years:

--------------------------------------------------------
| Imports | Exports |
Year |-----------------------|-----------|-----------|
| _Koku_ |Value (yen)| _Koku_ |Value (yen)|
--------------------------------------------------------
1909 | 1,325,243 | 13,585,817| 422,513 | 5,867,290 |
1910 | 918,627 | 8,644,439| 429,251 | 5,900,477 |
1911 | 1,719,566 | 11,721,085| 216,198 | 3,940,541 |
1912 | 2,234,437 | 30,193,481| 208,423 | 4,367,824 |
1913 | 3,637,269 | 48,472,304| 204,002 | 4,372,979 |
1914 | 2,022,644 | 24,823,933| 260,738 | 4,974,108 |
1915 | 457,606 | 4,886,125| 662,629 | 9,676,969 |
1916 | 309,158 | 3,087,616| 686,479 |11,197,356 |
1917 | 564,376 | 6,513,373| 769,129 |14,662,546 |
1918 | 4,647,168 | 89,755,678| 264,565 | 8,321,965 |
1919 | 4,642,382 |162,070,840| 95,219 | 4,327,690 |
1920 | 471,083 | 18,059,194| 116,249 | 5,897,675 |
--------------------------------------------------------

The twenty-five years' average (1888-1912) of excess of import over export was 1,339,493 _koku_. See also Appendix XXVIII.

INCREASE OF RICE YIELD AND OF POPULATION [XXV].

----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | |Percentage | | Percentage | 1882 | 1913 | of | 1918 | of | | |Increase | |Increase[*] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Population |36,700,000 |53,362,000 | 45 |66,851,000 | 55 Rice crop |30,692,000 |50,222,000 | 63 |53,893,000 | 75 (_koku_) | | | | | -----------------------------------------------------------------------

* 1882-1918. The degree to which the increase in production will be maintained is of course a matter for discussion. As far as rice is concerned, it must be borne in mind that there is an increasing consumption per head.

FARMERS' DIET [XXVI]. It is officially stated in 1921 that "the common farm diet consists of a mixture of cooked rice and barley as the principal food with vegetables and occasionally fish." The barley is what is known as naked barley. Ordinary barley is eaten in northern Japan, but two-thirds of the barley eaten elsewhere is the wheat-like naked barley, which cannot be grown in Fukushima and the north. The husking of ordinary barley is hard work. The young men do it during the night when it is cool. They keep on until cock-crow. Their songs and the sound of their mallets make a memorable impression as one passes through a village on a moonlight night. Another substitute for rice beyond millet is _hiye_ (panic grass). In the south it is regarded as a weed of the paddies, but in the north many _tan_ are planted with this heavy-yielding small grain.

TAXATION [XXVII]. Before 1906 national taxation was 2.5 per cent. of the legal price of land. In 1900 it was 3.3 per cent., in 1904 5.5 per cent., in 1911 4.7 per cent, and in 1915 4.5 per cent. But local taxation increased in greater proportion.

FLAVOUR OF RICE AND PRICE FLUCTUATIONS [XXVIII]. Japanese rice has a fatty flavour which the people of Japan like. Therefore the native rice commands a higher price in Japan than Chinese or Indian rice. With the exception of a small quantity exported to Japanese abroad, Japanese rice is consumed in Japan. The supply of it and the demand for it are exclusively a Japanese affair. Naturally, when the crop fails the price soars, and when there is a superabundant harvest the price comes down to the level of foreign rice. Here is the secret of the enormous fluctuations in the price of Japanese rice with which the authorities have so often endeavoured to cope.

The Government granary plan is the third big effort of authority to manage rice prices. The Okuma Government, under the administration of which rice went down to 14 yen per _koku_, had a Commission to raise prices. The Terauchi Ministry, at a time when prices rose, touching 55 yen, had a Commission to bring prices down.

AREA AND CLIMATE [XXIX]. Japan Proper comprises a main island, three other large islands in sight of the main island, and archipelagos--4,000 islets have been counted. The main island, Honshu, with Shikoku behind it, lies off the coast of Korea; the next largest and northernmost island, Hokkaido, off the coast of Siberia, and the remaining sizeable island and the southernmost, Kyushu, off the coast of China over against the mouth of the Yangtse. The area of this territory, that is of Japan before the acquirement of Formosa, Korea, southern Saghalien and part of Manchuria, is about 142,000 square miles in area, which is that of Great Britain in possession not of one Wales but of four, or nearly 1 per cent. of the area of Asia. But there are several million more people in Japan than there are inhabitants of Great Britain and thrice as many as there are Britons in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. (See also Appendix XXX.) Japan, which lies between the latitudes of Cairo and the Crimea, may be said to consist of mountains, of which fifty are active volcanoes, with some land, either hilly or boggy, at the foot of them. It is nowhere more than 200 miles across and in one place is only 50. A note on the ocean currents which exercise an influence on agriculture will be found on page 195. The protection afforded to the eastern prefectures by mountain ranges is obvious. Generally the summer temperature of Japan is higher and the winter temperature is lower than is recorded in Europe and America within the same latitudes.

"The mild climate and abundant rainfall," says the Department of Agriculture, "stimulate a luxuriant forest development throughout the country which in turn provides ample fountain heads for rivers. The rivers and streams run in all directions, affording opportunity for irrigation all over the country. The insular position of the country renders its humidity high and its rainfall abundant when compared with Continental countries. The rainy season prevails during the months of June and July, making this season risky for the harvest of wheat and barley; on the other hand it affords a beneficent irrigation supply to paddy-grown rice, which is the most important crop. The characteristic feature of the climate in the greater part of the islands is the frequency of storms in the months of August and September. As the flowers of the rice plant commence to bloom during the same period, these late summer storms cause much damage."

The weather in Tokyo in 1918 was as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Jan.|Feb.|Mar.|Apl.| May|June|July|Aug.|Sept.|Oct.|Nov.|Dec. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rain and | | | | | | | | | | | | snow (mm.)| 10| 65| 163| 108| 123| 149| 82| 78| 202| 135| 142| 80 Temp. (C.) | 1.6| 3.6| 6.7|11.7|16.7|20.2|26.0|26.0| 22.6|16.0|10.4|3.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------

The varied climate of Japan is indicated by the following statistics for centres as far distant as Nagasaki in the extreme south-west and Sapporo in Hokkaido:

--------------------------------------------------------------------- |Nagasaki| Kyoto |Tokyo | Niigata | Aomori | Sapporo ----------------|--------|-------|------|---------|--------|--------- Days of rain or| | | | | | snow | 179 | 176 | 144 | 218 | 229 | 216 Average | | | | | | temp. (C.) | 14.9 | 13.6 | 13.8 | 12.5 | 9.4 | 7.3 Maximum | 36.7 | 37.2 | 36.6 | 39.1 | 36.0 | 33.4 Minimum | _5.6_ | _11.9_| _8.1_| _9.7_ | _19.0_ | _25.6_ ---------------------------------------------------------------------

The italicised temperatures are below zero. Average dates of last frost: Tokyo, April 6; Nagoya, April 13; Matsumoto, May 17.

POPULATION OF JAPAN, MANCHURIA AND MONGOLIA [XXX]. The population of the Empire according to the 1920 census was 77,005,510, which included Korea, 17,284,207; Formosa, 3,654,398; Saghalien, 105,765; and South Manchuria (that is, the Kwantung Peninsula), 80,000. In Old Japan (Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu with the near islands, and Loo-choos and Bonins) there were 53,602,043, and in Hokkaido (including Kuriles) 2,359,097.

Tokyo is the largest city, 2,173,000, followed by Osaka, 1,252,000. Kobe and Kyoto have a little more than half a million; Nagoya and Yokohama four hundred thousand apiece. Ten other cities have a hundred thousand odd.

In the following table the populations and areas of Japan, Great Britain and the United States are compared:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country | Area | Population | Population
| | | per sq. mile
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan (excluding Korea, Formosa | | |
and Saghalien) | 142,000 | 55,961,140 | 394
| | (1920) |
British Isles | 121,636 | 47,306,664[*] | 388
| | (1921) |
United States (excluding Alaska | | |
and oversea possessions) |3,000,000| 105,683,108 | 35
| | (1920) |
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Ireland taken at 1911 census figures.

Japan's 394 per square mile is lowered by the population of Hokkaido (2,359,097), which is only 66 per square mile. The population of the three chief Japanese islands is: Honshu, the mainland (41,806,930), 471; Shikoku (3,066,890), 423; and Kyushu (8,729,088), 511. (These figures are for 1920.) "As regards density per square kilometre," writes an official of the Imperial Bureau of Statistics in the _Japan Year-book_, with the figures antecedent to the 1920 census before him, "it is calculated at 140 for Japan and this compares as follows with Belgium (1910) 252, England and Wales (1911) 239, Holland (1909) 171, Italy (1911) 121, Germany (1910) 120 and France 44. When comparison is made on the basis of habitable area Japan may be considered to surpass all as to density, for while in Japan it constitutes only 19 per cent, of the total area, the ratio is as high as 74 for Belgium, 73 for England and Wales, 67 for Holland, 76 for Italy, 65 for Germany and 70 for France." The Professor of Agricultural Science at Tokyo University says: "The area under cultivation, even in the densely populated parts, is comparatively smaller than in any other country."

In a statement issued in 1921 the Department of Agriculture reckoned the population at 145 per square kilometre and recorded the mean rate of increase "in recent years" as 12.06 per 1,000. It stated that the density of the rural population was 44 per square kilometre or 9.42 per hectare of arable, in other words that the density "is higher than that of France, Belgium, Switzerland and some other countries where the agriculture is marked by fairly intensive methods." Mr. Nikaido, of the Bureau of Statistics, writes in the _Japan Year-book_ that the annual increase of Japan's population was 14.78 per 1,000 for 1909-13 and 12.06 for 1914-18, "a rate greater than in any civilised country, with the exception of Germany and Rumania in the pre-War years."

The birth rate is high, but so is the mortality. The death rate of minors is thrice that of Germany and Great Britain. Here the increasing industrialisation of the country is no doubt playing its part. The ratio of still births has steadily risen since the eighties. The ratio of births, other than still births, per 1,000 of population, which in 1889-93 was 28.6, increased by 1909-13 to 33.7; but the death rate fell only from 21.1 to 20.6. The ratio of unmarried, 63.22 in 1893, was 66.22 in 1918.

The following figures for Japan Proper are printed by the _Financial and Economic Annual_, issued by the Department of Finance:

--------------------------------------------------------- Year. | Total. |Annual Increase |Average Increase per | |of Population. |1,000 Inhabitants. --------------------------------------------------------- 1910 | 50,716,600 | -- | 14.09} 1911 | 51,435,400 |718,800 | 14.17} 1912 | 52,167,000 |731,600 | 14.22} 14.21 1913 | 52,911,800 |744,800 | 14.28} 1914 | 53,668,600 |756,800 | 14.30} | | | 1915 | 54,448,200 |779,600 | 14.53} 1916 | 55,235,000 |786,800 | 14.45} 1917 | 56,035,100 |800,100 | 14.49} 14.50 1918 | 56,851,300 |816,200 | 14.57} 1919 | 57,673,938 |822,638 | 14.47} 1920 | 55,961,140 | -- | -- ---------------------------------------------------------

It will be seen that for the year 1920 there was a big drop. The population of 55,961,140 for the year 1920 is the actual population as returned by the census; the figures of the preceding years are "based," it is explained to me, "on the local registrars' entries. The national census has demonstrated that the figures were larger than the actual number of inhabitants, the discrepancies being partly due to erroneous and duplicate registration and partly to the exodus of persons to the colonies or foreign countries whilst retaining their legal domiciles at home. But the table serves to show the rate of increase." A million and three-quarters is a substantial figure, however, to account for in this way. It would seem reasonable to suppose that the increased cost of living, marriage at a later age than formerly and increased mortality due directly or indirectly to the factory system have arrested the rate of increase of the population in recent years. For trustworthy figures of the Japanese population we must await the next census and compare its figures with those of the 1920 census, the first to be taken scientifically.

A considerable part of Japan is uninhabitable. Of how much of the British Isles can this be said? The fact that there are in Japan fifty more or less active volcanoes, about a thousand hot springs and two dozen mountains between 12,000 and 8,000 ft. high speaks for itself. Ben Nevis is only 4,400, Snowdon only 3,500 ft.

The population of Korea in 1920 (17,284,207) was 239 per square mile. According to _Whitaker_ for 1921 the population of Manchuria (11 millions) is 30 per square mile, and of Mongolia (3 millions) 2.8.

SMALL FARMS DECREASING [XXXI].

------------------------------------------------------ Year |Below 5 |Over 5 |Over 5 |Over 2 |Over 3 |Over 5 |_tan_ |_tan_ |_chō_ |_chō_ |_chō_ |_chō_ ------------------------------------------------------ 1908 |37.28 |32.61 |19.51 |6.44 |3.01 |1.15 1912 |37.14 |33.25 |19.61 |5.96 |2.83 |1.21 1918 |35.54 |33.30 |20.70 |6.33 |2.82 |1.31 1919 |35.36 |33.18 |20.68 |6.21 |2.83 |1.74 ----------------------------------------------------

See also Appendix XLVII.

FORESTS [XXXII]. The following figures for 1918 show, in thousand _chō_, the ownership of forests (bared tracts in brackets): Crown, 1,303 (89); State, 7,288 (392); prefectures, cities, towns and villages, 2,894 (1,383); temples and shrines, 111 (15); 7,186 (1,630); total, 18,782 (3,509). The largest yield is from sugi (cryptomeria), pine and _hinoki_ (_Charmae-cyparis obtusa_).

ARMAMENTS [XXXIII]. 1,505 million yen of the national debt is for armaments and military purposes against 923 million yen for reproductive undertakings (railways, harbours, drainage, roads, steelworks, mining, telephones, etc.), 143 million for exploitation of Formosa, Korea and Saghalien, 123 million for financial adjustment and 98 million for feudal pensions and feudal debt. Of the expenditure for 1920-1, 846 million, some 395 million were for the army and navy. During a period of 130 years the United States Government has spent nearly four-fifths of its revenue on war or objects related to war.

LANDOWNING AND FARMING [XXXIV]. Before the Restoration the farmers were the tenants of the daimyos' vassals, the samurai, or of the daimyos direct. When the daimyos gave up their lands the Crown made the farmers the owners of the land they occupied. Its legal value was assessed and the national land tax was fixed at 3 per cent, and the local tax at 1 per cent. Various adjustments have since taken place.

The Japanese Constitutional Labour Party has insisted in a communication to the International Labour Conference at Geneva that Japanese tenant farmers are not properly called farmers but that they are "labourers pure and simple." See Appendix LXXVI.

STATE RAILWAYS [XXXV]. The railways, which were nationalised in 1907, extended in 1919 to 6,000 miles. There were also nearly 2,000 miles of light railways (in addition to 1,368 of electric street cars). Most of the lines are single track. The gauge is 3 ft. 6 in. The Government has proposed gradually to electrify the whole system.

ILLEGITIMACY [XXXVI]. In Japan illegitimacy is a question not of morals but of law. That is to say, it is a question of registration. If a husband omits to register his marriage he is not legally married. Thus it is possible for there to be born to a married pair a child which is technically illegitimate. If the child should die at an early age it is equally possible for it to appear on the official records as illegitimate. A birth must be registered within a fortnight. It may be thought perhaps that it is practicable for the father to register his marriage after the birth of the child and within the time allowed for registration. It is possible but it is not always easy. An application for the registration of the marriage of a man under twenty-five must bear the signature of his parents and the signature of two persons who testify that the required consent has been regularly obtained. In the event of a man's father having "retired," the signature of the head of the family must be secured. If a man is over twenty-five, then the signatures of his parents or of any two relatives will suffice. Now suppose that a man is living at a distance from his birthplace or suppose that the head of his family is travelling. Plainly, there may be a difficulty in securing a certificate in time. Therefore, because, as has been explained, no moral obloquy attaches to unregistered marriage or to unregistered or legally illegitimate children, registration is often put off. When a man removes from one place to another and thereupon registers, it may be that his marriage and his children may be illegitimate in one place and legitimate in another. There is a difference between actual and legal domicile. A man may have his domicile in Tokyo but his citizen rights in his native village.

SAKÉ AND BEER [XXXVII]. Saké is sold in 1 or 2 _go_ bottles at from 10 to 25 sen for 2 _go_. As it is cheaper to buy the liquor unbottled most people have it brought home in the original brewery tub. There are five sorts of _saké_: _seishu_ (refined), _dakushu_ (unrefined or muddy), _shirozake_ (white _saké_), _mirin_ (sweet _saké_) and _shōchū_ (distilled _saké_). _Saké_ may contain from 10 to 14 per cent. of alcohol; _shōchū_ is stronger; _mirin_ has been described as a liqueur. Japanese beers contain from 1 to 2 per cent. less alcohol than English beers and only about a quarter of the alcohol in _saké_. More than four-fifths of it is sold in bottles. Beer is replacing _saké_ to some extent, but owing to the increase in the population of Japan the total consumption of _saké_ (about 4,000,000 _koku_) remains practically the same. In 1919 beer and _saké_ were exported to the value of 7,200,000 and 4,500,000 yen respectively.

MINERAL PRODUCTION [XXXVIII]. In 1919 the production was as follows: gold, 1,938,711 _momme_, value 9,681,494 yen; silver, 42,822,160 _momme_, value 11,131,861 yen; copper, 130,737,861 _kin_, value 67,581,475 yen; iron, steel and iron pyrites, 169,545,050 _kwan_, the value of the steel being 72,666,867 yen; coal, 31,271,093 metric tons, value 442,540,941 yen.

JAPAN AS SILK PRODUCER [XXXIX], In exportation of silk, Japan, which in 1919 had under sericulture 8.6 of her total cultivated area and 17.1 per cent, of her upland, passed Italy in 1901 and China in 1910. Her exportation is now twice that of China. In production her total is thrice that of Italy. France is a long way behind Italy. The production of China is an unknown quantity.

As to the advantages and drawbacks of Japan for sericulture the Department of Agriculture wrote in 1921: "Japan is not favourably placed, inasmuch as atmospheric changes are often very violent, and the air becomes damp in the silk-culture seasons. This is especially the case in the season of spring silkworms, for the cold is severe at the beginning and the air becomes excessively damp as the rainy season sets in. The intense heat in July and August, too, is very trying for the summer and autumn breeds. Compared with France and Italy, Japan seems to be heavily handicapped, but the abundance of mulberry leaves all over the land and the comparatively rich margin of spare labour among the farmers have proved great advantages."

The length of the sericultural season ranges from 54 days in spring to 31 or 32 days in autumn, but there are variations according to weather, methods and seed. The season begins with the incubation period. Then follows the rearing. Last is the period in which the caterpillars mount the little straw stacks provided for them in order that they may wind themselves into cocoons. I do not enter into the technics of the retardation and stimulation of seed in order to delay or to hasten the hatch according to the movements of the market. Hydrochloric and sulphuric-acid baths and electricity are used as stimulants; storage in "wind holes" is practised to defer hatching.

Cocoons are reckoned both by the _kwan_ of 8-1/4 lbs. and by the _koku_ of approximately 5 bushels. The cocoon production in 1918 worked out at about 16-1/2 bushels per acre of mulberry or 18 bushels per family engaged in sericulture. About 34 million bushels of cocoons are produced. In 1919 the production was 270,800,000 kilos. The average production of a _tambu_ of mulberry field was 1.356 _koku_. In 1919 a _koku_ was worth on the average 106.81 yen (including double and waste cocoons). The cost of producing cocoons rose from 4.105 yen per _kwamme_ in 1916 to 11.284 yen in 1920. The daily wages of labourers employed by the farmers rose from 62 sen for men and 47 sen for women in 1910 to 1 yen 93 sen for men and 1 yen 44 sen for women in 1920. With the slump, the price of cocoons fell below the cost of production and there was trouble in several districts when wages were due. The labourers engaged for the silk seasons of 1916 numbered 341,577, of whom 30,000 came from other than their employers' prefectures. These people migrate from the early to the late districts and so manage to provide themselves with work during a considerable period. As many as 5-1/2 per cent, of the persons engaged in the industry are labourers. Many employment agencies are engaged in supplying labour.

It has been estimated that the labour of 19.8 persons (200 per hectare) is needed for a _tambu_ of mulberry field. The silkworms hatched from a card of eggs (laid by 100 moths) are supposed to call for the labour of 49.2 persons (1,456 per kilo, 2.204 lbs.)

The production of _cocoons_ rose from 0.866 _koku_ per card in 1914 to 1.105 in 1918, or from 4,412,000 to 6,832,000.

More than three-quarters of the raw silk produced used to be exported. Now, with the increase of factories in Japan (the figures are for 1918), only 67 per cent, goes abroad, the bulk of it to the United States, which obtained from Japan, in 1917-18, 75 per cent., and in 1919, it has been stated, 90 per cent, of its total supply. About 28 per cent, of the world's consumption is supplied by Japan. Whereas in 1915 the output of raw silk was 5,460,000 _kwan_ valued at 217,746,000 yen, it was in 1918 7,891,000 _kwan_ valued at 546,543,000 yen. While in 1915-16 the percentage of Japanese exporters to foreign exporters was 64-4, it had risen in 1919-20 to 77.5. Against 450 _chō_ of mulberries in 1914 there were in 1918 508,993 _chō_. The total export of raw silk and silk textiles to all countries in 1920 was 382 and 158 million yen respectively. In 1919, 96 per cent. of the raw silk Japan exported went to the United States and 46 out of 101 million yens' worth of exported silk textiles (habutal). Japan's whole trade with the United States is worth 880 million yen a year. But the proportion of basins in the factories steadily increases. There are nearly five thousand factories, big and little. A well-informed correspondent writes to me: "You know of course of the big organisation subsidised by the Government to control prices and not to make too much silk. The truth is the silk interest became too powerful and the Government is not a free agent."

TUBERCULOSIS [XL]. Phthisis and tuberculosis sweep off 22 per cent, and bronchitis and inflammation of the lungs 18 per cent., or together more than a third of the population. See also Appendix LXIX.

WOMEN WORKERS [XLI]. In addition to women and girls working in agriculture, in the mines, in the factories and & trades there are said to be 1,200,000 in business and the public services. Teachers number about 52,000, nurses 33,000, midwives 28,000 and doctors 700.

FACTORY FOOD AND "DEFIANCE OF HYGIENIC RULES" [XLII]. Dr. Kuwata says in the _Japan Year-book_ (1920-1) that "in cotton mills where machinery is run day and night it is not uncommon when business is brisk to put operatives to 18 hours' work. In such cases holidays are given only fortnightly or are entirely withheld. The silk factories in Naganoken generally put their operatives to 14 or 16 hours' work and in only a small portion are the hours 13."

Summarising a report of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, he says of the factory workers: "The bulk of workers are female and are chiefly fed with boiled rice in 43 per cent. of the factories. In other factories the staple food is poor, the rice being mixed with cheaper barley, millet or sweet potato in the proportion of from 20 to 50 per cent. In most cases subsidiary dishes consist of vegetables, meat or beans being supplied on an average only eight times a month. Dormitories are in defiance of hygienic rules. In most cases only half to 1 _tsubo_ (4 square yards) are allotted to one person." See also Appendix LXIX.

CHINESE COMPETITION WITH JAPAN [XLIII]. The _Jiji_ called attention in the spring of 1921 to the way in which spinning mills in China were an increasing menace to Japanese industry. There were in China 810,000 spindles under Chinese management, 250,000 under European and 340,000 under Japanese, a total of 1,430,000, which will shortly be increased to 1,150,000 against 3,000,000 in Japan only 1,800,000 of which are at work. The 1919 return was: China, 1,530,000; Japan, 3,200,000.

HOODWINKING THE FOREIGNER [XLIV] In the _Manchester Guardian_ Japan Number, June 9, 1921, the managing director of a leading spinning company, in a page and a half article, states that among the reasons why a large capitalisation is needed by Japanese factories, beyond the fact of higher cost of machinery, is the "special protection needed for Japanese operatives and the special consideration given by the spinners to the happiness and welfare of their operatives." When will Japanese believe their best friends when they tell them that such attempts to hoodwink the foreigner achieve no result but to cover themselves with ridicule?

TOBACCO [XLV]. In 1918-19 there was produced on 24,439 _chō_ 10,308,089 _kwan_ of tobacco. During the same period 9,681,274 _kwan_ were taken by the Government, which paid 19,114,803 yen or 1.974 per _kwan_. In 1919 there was imported leaf tobacco to the value of 5,288,918 yen. Cigarettes to the value of 589,744 yen were exported. The profits of the Tobacco Monopoly, estimated at 71 millions for 1919-20, were estimated at 88 millions for 1920-1.

ELECTORAL OFFENCES [XLVI]. There were candidates at the 1920 election who spent 50,000 yen. It is not uncommon for the number of persons charged with election offences to reach four figures. The qualification for a vote (law of 1918) is the payment of 3 yen of national tax. Under the old law there were about 25 voters per 1,000 inhabitants; now there are 54.

SMALLNESS OF ESTATES [XLVII]. The number of men holding from 5 to 10 _chō_ was, in 1919, 121,141 and between 10 and 50 _chō_, 45,978. The number holding 50 _chō_ (125 acres) and upwards was only 4,226, and 400 or so of these were in Hokkaido. See also Appendix XXXI.

VEGETABLE WAX MAKING [XLVIII]. The wax-tree berries are flailed and then pounded. Next comes boiling. The mush obtained is put into a bag and that bag into a wooden press. The result is wax in its first state. A reboiling follows and then--the discovery of the method was made by a wax manufacturer while washing his hands--a slow dropping of the wax into water. What is taken out of the water is wax in a flaked state. It is dried, melted and poured into moulds. The best berries yield 13 per cent. of fine wax. The variety of wax grown was _oro_ (yellow wax). There is another variety. The sort I saw is grafted at three years with its own variety. The fruitful period lasts for a quarter of a century. Roughly, the yield is 100 _kwan_ per _tan_. Formerly, wax was made from wild trees.

NAMES FOR ETA [XLIX]. Eta (great defilement) is an offensive name. The phrase _tokushu buraku_ (special villages), applied to Eta hamlets, is also objected to. _Heimin_ is the official name, but the Eta are generally termed _shin heimin_ (new common people), which is again regarded as invidiously distinguishing them. The name _chihō_ is now officially proposed for Eta villages. The fact that many Eta have made large sums during the war has somewhat improved the position of their class. Some Eta are well satisfied with their name and freely acknowledge their origin. Year by year intermarriage increases in Japan. A Home Department official has been quoted as saying that in 1918 as many as 450 marriages were registered between Eta and ordinary Japanese.

The population of the village I visited, 1,900 in 300 families, was getting its living as follows: farming 682, trade 185, industry 31, day labour 97, travelling players 180, not reported 180. The Parliamentary voters were 10, prefectural 17, county 19 and village 57. There were 98 ex-soldiers in the community and one man was a member of the local education committee. The birth rate was above the local average. The crimes committed during the year were: theft 2, gambling 2, assault 1, police offences 3. Of the 300 families only one was destitute, and it had been taken care of by the young women's society.

A considerable proportion of the early emigrants to America were Eta. It is now recognised that it was a short-sighted policy on the part of the authorities to allow them to go.

PAPER MAKING [L]. A paper-making outfit may cost from 60 to 70 yen only. The shrubs grown to produce bark for paper making are _kōzo_ (the paper mulberry), _mitsumata_ (_Edgworthia chrysantha_) and _gampi_ (_Wilkstroemia sikokiana_). Someone has also hit on the idea of turning the bark of the ordinary mulberry to use in paper making.

LIBRARIES, THE PRESS AND THE CENSORSHIP [LI]. There are 1,200 libraries in the country with 4 million books and 8 million visitors in the year. About 47,000 books are published in a year, of which less than half, probably, are original works. From one to two hundred are translations, usually condensed translations. The largest number deal with politics. There are about 3,000 newspapers and periodicals. In 1917 some 1,200 issues of newspapers and periodicals attracted the attention of the censor and the sale of 600 books was prohibited. Some sixty foreign books were stopped.

JAPANESE IN BRAZIL [LII]. Emigration to South America has latterly been arrested through the rise in wages at home. During the past four years an average of about 3,000 families has gone every twelve months to Brazil, where about a quarter of a million acres are owned and leased by Japanese. The Japanese Government spends 100,000 yen a year on giving a grant of 50 yen to each emigrating family up to 2,000 in number, through the Overseas Colonisation Company. The Brazilian Government also offers a gratuity.

CATTLE KEEPING IN SOUTH-WESTERN JAPAN [LIII]. Tajima, the old province which comprises about four counties in Tottori, is a large supplier of "Kobe beef," but it is a cattle-feeding not a grazing district. The number of cattle in Hyogo is double the cattle population of Tottori, but no cattle keeper has more than a score of beasts. The usual thing is for farmers to have two or three apiece. Some of the "Kobe beef" comes from the prefectures of Hiroshima and Okayama. It is in the north of Japan, where the people are not so thick on the ground and cultivation is less intense, that cattle production has its best chance.

VALUE OF LAND [LIV]. The value of land in the hill-village in which I stayed necessarily varied, but the average price of paddy was given me as 250 yen per _tan_. Dry land was half that. Open hill land, that is the so-called grass land, might be worth 120 yen. The rise in values which has taken place is illustrated by the following table of farm-land values per _tan_ in 1919, published by the Bank of Japan:

------------------------------------------------------------ | Paddy | Upland ------------------------------------------------------------ |Good |Ordinary|Bad |Good |Ordinary|Bad ------------------------------------------------------------ Hokkaido |231 |158 |95 |115 |62 |26 {North } |802 |579 |366 |477 |295 |170 Honshu {Tokyo } |863 |607 |406 |673 |442 |272 (main {middle} |1,226 |834 |523 |875 |565 |313 island){west } |1,226 |840 |525 |727 |443 |244 Shikoku |1,120 |784 |470 |752 |450 |225 Kyushu |960 |652 |416 |538 |300 |175 -----------------------------------------------------------

FRUIT PRODUCTION [LV]. The Japanese when they do not eat meat do not feel the need of fruit which is experienced in the West. But there is now a steady increase in the fruit crops. For 1918 the figures were (in thousands of _kwan_): persimmons, 43,620; pears, 27,730; oranges, 73,660; peaches, 12,810; apples, 6,695; grapes, 6,240; plums (largely used pickled), 6,190.

JAPANESE STUDENTS ABROAD [LVI]. During 1921 more than 200 young professors or candidates for professorships were sent to Europe and America by the Ministry of Education. Probably another 300 were studying on funds (£450 for a year plus fares is the grant which is made by the Ministry of Education) supplied by the Ministries of Agriculture, of Railways and of the Army and Navy (often supplemented, no doubt, by money furnished by their families). If to these students are added those sent by independent Universities, institutions, corporations and private firms, the total cannot be fewer than 1,000. The students stay from six months to two or three years, and when they return others take their places. Counting diplomatists, business men, tourists and students there are, of course, more Japanese in Great Britain than there are British in Japan. There are fifteen hundred Japanese in London alone.

TEA PRODUCTION [LVII]. Every prefecture but Aomori produces some tea, but very little is grown in the prefectures of the extreme north. The largest producers are in order: Shidzuoka, Miye, Nara, Kyoto, Kumamoto, Gifu, Kagoshima, Shiga, Saitama, Osaka and Ibariki. In 1919 Shidzuoka produced 4 million _kwan_, valued at nearly 13 million yen. But the statistics of tea production are unsatisfactory. Much tea is produced and sold locally which is unreported. A great deal of this is of inferior quality and produced from half-wild bushes. The 1919 figures are: area, 48,843 _chō_; number of factories, 1,122,164; green tea--_sencha_, 7,205,886 _kwan_; _bancha_, 2,580,035 _kwan; gyokuro_, 75,826 _kwan_; black, 50,756 _kwan_; others, 234,868 _kwan_; _sencha_ dust, 249,862 _kwan_; other dust, 486 _kwan_. Total, 10,397,719 _kwan_; value, 33,377,460 yen. There was exported green tea (pan fired), 12,420,000 yen; green tea (basket fired), 4,575,000 yen; others, 1,405,000 yen. Of this there went to the United States consignments to the value of 15,600,000 yen and to Canada of 1,700,000 yen. In 1918 the export to America was 50,000 tons; in 1919, 30,000; and in 1920, 23,000; and a further decline is expected in 1921. The total exports, which were, in 1909, 62 per cent, of the production, were, in 1918, only 57 per cent, and, in 1919, 37 per cent.

THEINE PERCENTAGES.--The following percentages of theine in black and green tea were furnished me by the Department of Agriculture:

--------------------------------------------------- |Green |Green |Black |Oolong |(Basket Fired) |(Pan Fired) | | --------------------------------------------------- Theine |2.81 |2.22 |2.26 |2.35 Tannin |15.08 |14.29 |7.32 |16.15 ---------------------------------------------------

Theine or caffeine is a feathery-looking substance which resembles the material of a silk-worm's cocoon. There is more theine or caffeine in tea leaves than in coffee.

MISTAKES IN CROP STATISTICS [LVIII]. Generally speaking, it may be said that cereals are under-estimated and cocoons over-estimated. Cereals may be 20 per cent. under-estimated. The under-estimation may no doubt be traced back to the time when taxation was on the basis of the grain yield.

OCCUPATIONS FOR THE BLIND [LIX]. A third of the 70,000 sightless are _amma_, about a quarter as many practise acupuncture and the application of the moxa, while nearly the same number are musicians or storytellers. The blind have petitioned the Diet to restrict the calling of _amma_ to men and women who have lost their sight.

WELL SINKING FOR GAS [LX]. The presence of gas, which is odourless, is betrayed by the discoloration of the water from which it emanates and by bubbles.

HEALTH, HEIGHTS AND WEIGHTS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN [LXI]. In 1917-18 the constitutions of 1,193,000 elementary school boys were reported as 53 per cent. robust, 48 per cent. medium and 4 per cent. weak. The constitutions of 1,016,000 elementary school girls were reported 49 per cent. robust, 48 per cent. medium and 3 per cent. weak. Just as women are often underfed in Japan, girls may frequently be less well fed than boys. Elementary school boys of 16 averaged 4.84 _shaku_ in height and 10.85 _kwan_ in weight. The average height and weight of 512 elementary school girls of the same age were 4.71 _shaku_ and 10.83 _kwan_.

HEIGHT AND WEIGHT OF WRESTLERS [LXII]. In a list of ten famous wrestlers the tallest is stated to be 6.30 _shaku_ (a _shaku_ is 11.93 inches) and the heaviest as 33.2 _kwan_ (a _kwan_ is 8.267 lbs.). The average height and weight of these men work out at 5.84 _shaku_ and 28.4 _kwan_. By way of comparison it may be mentioned that the percentage of conscripts in 1918 over 5.5 _shaku_ was 2.58 per cent. The average weight of Japanese is recorded as 13 _kwan_ 830 _momme_.

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The foundations of JapanChapter XL: The Problems of Japan (2)

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